Liberty & Society

• Overview
• A Typical Day
• Locations
• Faculty
• Readings

Can we save the economy using lessons from the Great Depression? Do we get the government we expect (or fear)? At Liberty & Society Seminars, participants tackle core cultural issues through the lenses of humanities and social sciences. Ideal for students seeking to add nuance and depth to an existing understanding of Libertarian principles. 

For Undergraduates & Recent Graduates
May 26-June 1 ● Wake Forest University, Winston–Salem, NC
June 16-22 ● Chapman University, Orange County, CA
July 7-13 ● Bryn Mawr College, Philadelphia, PA area
July 21-27 ● Bryn Mawr College, Philadelphia, PA area

For Graduate Students
June 9-15 ● Bryn Mawr College, Philadelphia, PA area

Liberty & Society Seminars progress beyond the basics of free markets to explore more sophisticated arguments for liberty. Lectures on Hayek, Nozick, Mises, and Smith provide frameworks for wrestling with issues regarding the nature of social order, self-perpetuating government interventions, and the Great Depression and other historical episodes. Throughout the week, participants seek (often talking late into the night) to apply the philosophy of liberty to enduring social and political questions:

How do incentives shape human actions and decisions?
Should government have a monopoly on force?
Can social harmony emerge spontaneously?

Topic Sampling

• Public Choice and Government Failure
• Spontaneous Order and Social Change
• Markets and Morality
• Liberty in Times of Crisis

Faculty

The faculty includes professors from a range of disciplines including history, economics, philosophy, law, and political science. Read about the speakers at each seminar.

Students are responsible for travel costs; IHS covers program costs, books, housing, and meals.

“The seminar was a great opportunity to deepen our insights, improve our understanding of markets and meet others with similar ideas.” – James Lawson

Typical Day »